Aamir Khan's experiments with cinema

He has been ruling the business for more than 25 years now, but Aamir Khan continues to reinvent himself. From featuring in a silent film, to singing, to making a documentary film, Aamir has done it all. On his 49th birthday on Friday, we look at his experiments so far.

1 Perfectionist's 'silent' paranoia: Aamir Khan was always clear about what he wanted. Did you know that he tried both acting and filmmaking at the age of 16? Well, the actor not only featured in a 40-minute silent film Paranoia, directed by his school friend Adiya Bhattacharya, he also assisted him. The film also starred Victor Banerjee and Neena Gupta.

2A documentary producer: Aamir Khan launched his production house Aamir Khan Productions in 2001 and produced Lagaan, a 3 hour 24 minutes film. The film also earned him an Oscar nomination in the best foreign language film category. He also produced the documentary, Madness in the Desert, on the making of Lagaan. Aamir and director Satyajit Bhatkal were awarded the National Film Award for Best Exploration/Adventure Film at the 51st National Film Awards ceremony.

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3Yes he can sing too: Of course he is not a trained singer. But when he crooned Aati Kya Khandala from Ghulam in Mumbaiya style, it caught the youth's fancy. What's more? Rani till date is referred to as Khandala girl, thanks to the song.

4Satyamev Jayate: The actor says he's no social activist, and his intention of doing the show is not to help people, but himself. Coming from an actor of his stature, it's quite an admission. He had conceptualised the show well before Anna Hazare appeared on the scene, and aam aadmi became a buzzword. The show is not only doing its bit to change India, but also how we perceive actors who have more to them than the tag 'superstar'.

5His experiments with small films: Braving criticism from his 'family audiences', he dared to produce an adult comedy, Delhi Belly. Bhaag DK Bose Bhaag, he told his detractors. He also made a socially relevant film Peepli Live which not only tackled the issue of farmer suicides, but also took potshots at the irresponsible Indian media.

6The father of multi-crore clubs: It all started with Ghajini (2008). He went on a marketing overdrive, which included cutting his fan's hair Ghajini style. The result was for all to see. He created Rs 100-crore club and asked others to join it. When he thought, it was overcrowded, he created another with 3 Idiots - Rs 200-crore club. Now, he is sitting alone in Rs 500 crore (worldwide collections) club with Dhoom:3, waiting for others to give him company.